Razer Updates BlackWidow With New Switches

The BlackWidow Chroma V2 keyboard has a Yellow switch option that can withstand up to 80 million keystrokes.

The latest version of Razer's BlackWidow gaming keyboard will come with three mechanical switch options, all of which Razer makes in-house as an alternative to the industry standard Cherry switches.

Razer introduced its first Green and Orange switches with the BlackWidow Chroma keyboard in 2014. The updated BlackWidow Chroma V2 keyboard, announced on Tuesday and available for purchase now at Razerzone.com, will come with an additional Yellow switch option that matches the Orange's 45 g actuation force and is designed for action strategy and first-person shooter games that require intense, repeated keystrokes.

The Yellow switches can withstand up to 80 million keystrokes, which Razer claims is more than any current generation mechanical switch. The company originally said the Green and Orange mechanical switches could take 60 million keystrokes, compared to the 50 million strokes of the Cherry MX switches, but all three Razer switches are now rated at 80 million strokes.

Related Articles

In addition to the new switch option, the Chroma V2 comes with a detachable magnetic wrist rest and a few cosmetic improvements, although the overall look of the keyboard remains unchanged. It's a compact board, but that means it forgoes a numpad, which may be a deal-breaker if you're a gamer who needs one to set custom macros.

Still, Razer is keeping the $169 price unchanged, which means the wrist rest and other minor improvements are freebies.

"The Razer BlackWidow Chroma V2 builds on the legacy we started in 2010 with the original BlackWidow by offering legendary durability and comfort," Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan said in a statement. "This is the best mechanical keyboard we've ever produced."

More Inside PCMag.com

About the Author

Tom is PCMag's San Francisco-based news reporter. He got his start in technology journalism by reviewing the latest hard drives, keyboards, and much more for PCMag's sister site, Computer Shopper. As a freelancer, he's written on topics as diverse as Borneo's rain forests, Middle Eastern airlines, and big data's role in presidential elections. A graduate of Middlebury College, Tom also has a master's journalism degree from New York University. Follow him on Twitter @branttom. See Full Bio